Free Vista Ultimate headed to Windows Feedback exhibitionists

Great news for those of you enrolled in Microsoft's Windows Feedback Program. In exchange for giving Microsoft access to your computing habits for the last 3 months, your free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate '07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips (depending upon your enrollment selection) should be delivered in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Oh sure, the price for the most popular choice -- Vista Ultimate -- has dropped $80 since you flittered away your privacy. It's not like the MyFaceSpaceBook types have anything left to hide anyway. And free is free no matter the cost, right?

[Thanks, Gal C, Anthony, and everyone who sent this in]

[karts41 @ Mar 13th 2008 4:03AM]

Freedom is the only way, yeah!
It's the dream that we all share.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 13th 2008 12:27PM]

Ray Charles F--- Yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6JvYptKBYE

[landincoldfire @ Mar 13th 2008 4:05AM]

Yup, Woke up sick in the middle of the night. Checked my email and found the memo from Microsoft.

*Still holds breath*

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 13th 2008 12:29PM]

I smell a class action lawsuit.

[roflercopterer @ Mar 13th 2008 4:10AM]

yep got that e-mail...now I have a paperweight

[Vode @ Mar 13th 2008 4:34AM]

I'll take it gladly (Vista Ultimate that is, you can keep the rest, already got Office '07). Want a shipping address for me?

[roflercopterer @ Mar 13th 2008 4:37AM]

Nah I'll keep it for posterity's sake. I might want to run it some day. But XP is getting the job done for now.

If you want it that bad there's always the pirate bay

[Vode @ Mar 13th 2008 4:46AM]

I'm already running legitimate Vista Business on my (gaming) desktop, no pirate bay for me.

[giuliop @ Mar 13th 2008 6:22AM]

Vista Business on a gaming desktop. Ah, the irony of it.

[Vode @ Mar 13th 2008 7:44AM]

The irony of what exactly? I fail to see your point here.

[nd @ Mar 13th 2008 10:24AM]

"The irony of what exactly? I fail to see your point here."

i·ro·ny1 /ˈaɪrəni, ˈaɪər-/ [ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-]–noun, plural -nies.an: outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.


You see, when you say Vista Business, and then use it for gaming that's....oh nevermind.

[Richard @ Mar 13th 2008 4:33AM]

Depends on your view of what free means. In this case free means "0wned" so I will happily say thanks but no thanks Im not so shallow as to giveway my "freedom" so easily.

[JasonC @ Mar 13th 2008 9:07AM]

Not 0wned when you install this on an idle PC that you do absolutely NOTHING on...except collect free software from Microsoft :)

[SugarDaddy @ Mar 13th 2008 9:14AM]

Freedom and privacy are very different things. The Constitution (of the US) guarantees freedom. It does not guarantee privacy. So if people want to sell their privacy to microsoft, then that is their FREEDOM to do so. They chose to do it, so you, as a freedom-loving person, should be standing up in support of people exercising their choice even if you don't support the choice they made.

Now, what is a violation of our freedom of choice is something like the Bush administration's warrentless surveillance program. We were never asked if we would participate in their program, and they never asked a judge if they could do it. (Terrorism my ass. It's all about spying on political opponents like watergate. If it was really terrorism, they would gladly get the paper trail.)

[Wolfgame @ Mar 14th 2008 12:35AM]

Correct, the constitution of the united states doesn't guarantee privacy, the fourth amendment from the bill of rights guarantees that.

[momocrome @ Mar 13th 2008 4:35AM]

pfft. I got my copy months ago. They send it as an OEM copy in a paper sleeve from their fulfillment center in Puerto Rico.

what's the big deal, anyway? so now Microsoft knows the memory profile and frequency of some apps that I launched. you'd have to be an idiot or a criminal to get your panties bunched over that.

[SugarDaddy @ Mar 13th 2008 9:20AM]

Unless microsoft is gathering all of your passwords and creating a super-worm to take over the world!!

No, but seriously, if this program actually helps Microsoft make better software (of which many of us use), then I'll gladly participate. If I get a free copy of Vista Ultimiate in the process, that's just icing on the cake.

I've always felt that Microsoft should make an operating system catered to power users rather than dumbing the shit out of every iteration of Windows to cater to the uninquisitive, incurious or otherwise moronic.

[Brad @ Mar 13th 2008 4:39AM]

I dumped the app on a tertiary system at the house. It runs our lighting control system. But now my copy is not its way! MS must think I spend all day, every day, turning my lights on and off.

[Jeff Jones @ Mar 13th 2008 4:48AM]

Plus in the email they say they would like for you to keep submitting information if it's not to much hassle. That they continue to look for ways to provide incentives for those who do. First incentive will be an entry to the $5,000 drawing if you keep the feedback running until March 30.

[Chino B @ Mar 13th 2008 5:04AM]

Free = Torrent. No catch.

[technophobe @ Mar 13th 2008 6:19AM]

Unless you get caught and arrested, that sounds like a pretty big catch to me!

[Neoprimal @ Mar 13th 2008 8:39AM]

Catch = Mashed potatos, 'mystery meat', a 10x10 or however big those cells are and NEVER dropping soap again.

[Hax Or @ Mar 13th 2008 10:00AM]

Don't listen to them Chino B.

They still pollute the earth with mind-boggling amounts of plastic (CDs and DVDs) instead of downloading what they want.

Sure, all companies could sell their product on the net, but then they couldn't trash the earth.

The icing on the cake is that -- because they don't 'want to' use online distribution -- they think they care and they cry and cry.

I call emo on them all. And stupid to boot. Their answer is to throw anyone different then them in jail.

nice ... white-collar punks ;)

[Michael LaFramboise @ Mar 13th 2008 10:55AM]

Ironically the PC on which I had this app installed (picked Vista Ultimate btw) was running a un-activated version of Vista Ultimate which I got via torrent. Was running it via Boot Camp and booted into it once a week just to play some games. :)

[Turisbot @ Mar 13th 2008 5:14AM]

For free... why? they belive that this is the version that can fidelize users again?

-
Rafael

[GoonieGooGoo @ Mar 13th 2008 5:57AM]

Hmmmm....i'm in this program and have not received an email yet....

Any opinions on how I check on this???

[Ayle @ Mar 13th 2008 9:21AM]

Just reply to the mail they sent you to tell you that you are successfully enrolled.

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 13th 2008 6:14AM]

Got my email today for Office 07' which I will sell
/Engadget I hope you don't know anyone who put Micosofts spyware on their main computer

[Ty @ Mar 13th 2008 6:34AM]

I'd rather someone take a dump on my face than receive this diabolical trashy second-rate OS.

What is WRONG with someone who can use this dross?

www.therapy.com

[Laron @ Mar 13th 2008 4:12PM]

2 girls, 1 cup.

[Anand @ Mar 13th 2008 6:35AM]

What is the use in providing free copies of Vista, Office for those who have already installed and posted feedback about it?

I am unable to understand the essence of this prize? Is it available for people outside USA?

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 13th 2008 12:43PM]

I didn't post anything and had the spyware running on a machine with a bootleg copy of XP and got my completion email last night

[Drew Green @ Mar 13th 2008 6:49AM]

I installed the feedback utility on my desktop (my main computer is my laptop). Over the course of the past 3 months the desktop has been on for all of maybe 6 hours total. I use it to download music from Yahoo Music, and that's it. I filled out the initial survey that I was asked to fill out when I signed up for the program, but that's all.

I received my email last night informing me that my copy of Vista Ultimate is on its way. As far as I'm concerned, this was well worth my privacy, considering I could care less if MS knows what music I like.

[macona @ Mar 13th 2008 11:21AM]

Same thing here, but I ran it on a fresh copy of XP Home under Parallels on my Mac Mini. I havnt run it in more than a month.

[foyleman @ Mar 13th 2008 7:03AM]

If you remember, they quickly ran out of copies to give away. I tried to sign up later that day (that it was all announced). I wonder how many they are actually sending out.

[Matt @ Mar 13th 2008 7:23AM]

Mines on the way. The weird thing is, I installed the program on my work computer, and maybe a month later they had to re-image my hard drive. Yet it still said I was sending and receiving data to and from Microsoft.

[stromm @ Mar 13th 2008 7:29AM]

Well, not for all of us. I jumped on this program, got confirmed, installed the software, filled out the first survey and then the software kept crapping out on me. Standard WinXP Pro install. Not even AV installed. Defender kept screwing it up. Sent many emails asking for support, no response. Reinstalled the software at least 20 times.

Did I get the memo. Nope. Ticks me off.

[Adam Jackson @ Mar 13th 2008 8:13AM]

Yep. I received my Windows Feedback email last night:
Thank you for participating in the Windows Feedback Program!

This message is to notify you that your 3 months participation term has completed, and we argetting ready to ship your product. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. You will receive another email from us when shipments have gone out.

We have received many product selection changes and mailing address corrections from program participants and believe we have implemented all of those changes. Please verify that the below information is correct and notify us if you need us to make another change prior to shipping.

Your product selection:Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit and 64-bit DVD)

Your address:
You may also continue to receive an occasional invitation to participate in a Windows product survey, though this is not guaranteed. Your participation in surveys is optional.

We would love to keep you in our program and offer new incentives. If you continue participating in the automated feedback program through March 30, 2008, you will receive a sweepstakes entry for a chance to win USD $5000 cash. For complete sweepstake rules, including alternative entry methods, visit Official Rules, Windows Feedback Program Sweepstakes. There is no purchase required to enter. The sweepstakes program is open only to legal residents of the United States who are at least 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Please check http://wfp.microsoft.com for new incentives before you uninstall the feedback tool.

If you would like to stop sending data as part of the automated feedback program now, you are free to uninstall our tool today using this utility: http://wfp.microsoft.com/App_Client/wfpclean.exe

Please do not remove yourself from the program by sending a “remove” request to [e-mail] until your product selection has arrived, so that we can resend it to you in case you don’t receive it.

Thank you VERY MUCH for your participation.
The Windows Experience Team

[Bimmer @ Mar 13th 2008 8:31AM]

I got mine last week! Vista Ultimate 32 and 64 Bit.

[Steve Prior @ May 2nd 2008 1:37PM]

Was it the OEM version you got or the full version you are allowed to transfer to a different machine if you upgrade? I have a machine I'd like to play with Vista on for now, but will eventually build a media center type machine which I'd want to transfer the license to. That's allowed for a full license, but not for an OEM license and I'm wondering which is being given out from the WFP giveaway.

[Neoprimal @ Mar 13th 2008 8:41AM]

I almost wish I'd gotten Office 07' now...ah well. Still happy that I get my hands on a copy of Ultimate for free.

[Rollins @ Mar 13th 2008 8:53AM]

So they know all the porn I've been watching. Yeah. So?

[lokiju @ Mar 13th 2008 8:53AM]

Hell Yea!

Got my email lastnight!

Can't wait to get my hands on it and upgrade my Media Center PC to it.

[Sporkinum @ Mar 13th 2008 3:38PM]

I am either going to make a media center PC with it, or sell it on Craig's list. I haven't decided yet.

[Kevin @ Mar 13th 2008 8:58AM]

Got my copy of VIsta Ultimate last week and installed in on my MacBook Pro. It wasn't easy, though. I didn't receive any surveys or the email that a lot of people got a while back saying that they were on track to receive their free product, so I started emailing MS once a week with a copy of my confirmation email, making sure that I was enrolled. All the while they would send an automated response FAQ email. About a month ago I got an email saying that I neither enrolled in time nor was sending data to MS. I replied "Both of those statements are false. Thanks for an awful experience" and actually got a replay from a real, live person! She sorted everything out for me. Less than a week later, my shiny holographic discs arrived! So far it's pretty good, but it makes the MBP run really warm.

[Eric @ Mar 13th 2008 9:26AM]

I had a somewhat similar experience. About a month ago I got an email from them telling me I hadn't been sending them data all this time and therefore I might not get my free product. So of course my reaction was, "oh great, thanks for telling me this NOW assholes." So I tried uninstalling and reinstalling and then pestering them with emails to see if they were in fact receiving data now. All I got back was that automated FAQ response like everyone else. I never managed to get a real person. But then this morning I wake up and what do I see - a message saying my free copy of Vista Ultimate is on its way. Buh?? Ah well, works for me! Hopefully it'll get here sooner than later so I can install it on my Macbook Pro I just ordered.

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 13th 2008 12:38PM]

It took only a week

[lokiju @ Mar 13th 2008 9:03AM]

Hell Yea!

Got my email lastnight!

Can't wait to get my hands on it and upgrade my Media Center PC to it.

[roflmao @ Mar 13th 2008 10:00AM]

yay! i get a legit copy of anything M$ offers for the price of a perfect pushup!
join the military! lmao
and i dont have to worry about the gov knocking on my door asking me if this is my ip addy!
iD10T:
free? at what price? oh just my privacy? Sure!!!

[Dale @ Mar 13th 2008 10:01AM]

OH NOES, ITS A CONSPIRACY!!!! MICROSOFT IS STEALING MY LYFE!!!! LOL!

Jesus Christ, you pansies. They send you a few surveys and grab basic information about what you use Windows for. Big effing deal. You put out way more information about yourself on blogs, social networking sites, message boards and emails in a day than they could possibly gather over the three month period.